If you don't already know, GOG (Good Old Games) is a DRM free digital distributor. When you buy a game there, you can download the game as files which you can then run on your computer. These files don't need a separate downloader or installer program, they don't need to call home, etc. They are complete. They are clean of unwanted extras. GOG may have made their name on good old games, but they also deal in new games as well (not long ago I pre-ordered Shadow Warrior 2013 from them). So nothing will stop them from putting this game in their library... short of Stardock saying no.

As such, I would like those of you who read this thread and want a non-Steam version of the game, to go vote using the link I provided. Many games there have got 10k+ votes, so I'm hoping for that. I really want Stardock to consider GOG to be a viable option. I think many votes will help them see it as a good option.

In principle Steam isn't all that bad, it's the implementation which is a pain in the butt. Just for one example, I find its response to the mousewheel (ridiculously over-scrolling) really annoying. Can I adjust the scrolling anywhere? No. Thanks for that, Valve, you just alienated a customer with your one-size-fits-all philosophy.

Basically, if Steam becomes the only digital distribution platform (controlling 90% of the industry likely will get the same results), then it is the single point of failure of the industry. At that point, if anything bad were to happen to Steam, or if Steam were to make a bad decision, then it will affect the whole gaming industry in a bad way. I don't think there is any company ready to take over should Steam fail, or makes most customers leave in disgust.

I voted. After my last attempt to play Civ V, I swore I'd never buy another game through Steam. I can't run the game without being online, the client slows my computer to a crawl, and it's intrusive and annoying.

I would say I'm surprised that people STILL dislike Steam, but I used to be that way, so whatever floats your misguided boat. You'll come around eventually.

Let me share with you when I started to question if the Steam boat is really a luxury liner or if, under all the glitter, it may not be a prisoner transporter.

I have about 800 games on Steam and probably spent several thousand bucks over the years. When the Civ5 expansion was announced, I pre-ordered it. The only bonus was a 10% discount. On the day of the EU release, Steam sold the expansion at 30% off. I wrote in and asked for compensation, even offered to take store credit. I had figured it would be a small issue, since it was their mistake (they even said so in an email) and I was a good customer.

No go. They blew me off hard. Now, this was only $10 or less, but at that point it became a matter of principle. Normally, I would have charged back the payment and re-bought the expansion, however, if I had done this, they would have disabled access to my account for at least some time. Basically, I could swallow helplessly or go out in fight and gain nothing, and this drove home to me that relaying on Steam for your entire library is essentially like living in a dictatorship:

You can live perfectly fine right up to the point where you disagree with the leadership, and then you realize that you, in fact, have no rights. Sure, you can walk away, but you can't take anything with you. That's the way it is with Steam, too. You can stop buying stuff, and if you walk, you leave everything behind, so you are still forced to visit frequently and contribute to whatever statistics are kept. And if you walk away and make a fuss, the stuff you leave behind will be taken away, too. No other store can pull this, because normally a store doesn't own everything that you supposedly purchased from them before.

The consequence is that I went from buying several games per week on average to buying pretty much nothing. I spent the $99 on the founder's edition, and that money went fully to Stardock. I'll keep using Steam, because as a PC gamer you have little choice (and THAT should be the wake up call right there). But I went from being an avid supporter to a dissatisfied customer, and I now spend more money on console games than PC ones (those that are not bound to an account).

So, do keep having fun on your boat. Just make sure you don't ever disagree with the captain and pray to Gabe that you won't ever run into any situations where they force you to choose between the stuff you paid for and not getting screwed over.

I have about 800 games on Steam and probably spent several thousand bucks over the years. When the Civ5 expansion was announced, I pre-ordered it. The only bonus was a 10% discount. On the day of the EU release, Steam sold the expansion at 30% off. I wrote in and asked for compensation, even offered to take store credit. I had figured it would be a small issue, since it was their mistake (they even said so in an email) and I was a good customer.

Oh boo-hoo. Waa. Waa. I don't like the price point I bought at. Let me buy it cheaper. Maybe we should ask for discounts when the game's price gets cut a year after launch?

Frankly, I doubt Steam *can* give you that discount on their own, too. Don't forget, there's a third party involved (the actual game publisher) whose permission would be required.

Oh boo-hoo. Waa. Waa. I don't like the price point I bought at. Let me buy it cheaper. Maybe we should ask for discounts when the game's price gets cut a year after launch?

Discounts are fine. Offering a game with a 10% pre-order bonus (as the only bonus) and then selling it at 30% off on the release day is not the same as a sale a few weeks or months later. Besides, they did say that it was a mistake, but still didn't compensate for the difference, yet would also not allow me to cancel the purchase without locking my account.

But that wasn't the point. The actual point (it was that "woooosh" sound that you may have noticed when it flew by you) was that the convenient dependency on Steam has severe drawbacks if and when you disagree with anything that's payment related, because then the access to all your purchases is suddenly at stake.

I'm very fond of GOG because of their no DRM approach. You buy it, you keep it. If you are smart, download the game and store it away safely, you can always reinstall the game, even if GOG quit.

I'd like to have a DRM free copy too besides Steam, for reasons explained by Mivo. It doesn't have to be provided by GOG. For me it would be perfectly ok if Stardock themself provided me with this copy. Although GOG would be nice

But that wasn't the point. The actual point (it was that "woooosh" sound that you may have noticed when it flew by you) was that the convenient dependency on Steam has severe drawbacks if and when you disagree with anything that's payment related, because then the access to all your purchases is suddenly at stake.

Oh, I didn't miss the point. i just ignored it. And it isn't just purchase related... Even 'cheating' can put your game list at threat. Which is a totally different discussion, and nothing more than a form of theft on Steam's part. Hence why I didn't bother disagreeing with that section of your post. I just found your whining intensely... annoying.

Steam is the worst of the digital distribution platforms I use. I'd much rather get through Impulse or GOG. Yes, I have steam, yes I use it ... the only real attraction it has is a source of evil: its large cache of exclusive deals that you can't get without Steam. That's not a competitive advantage, that's an anti-competitive advantage.

Stardock made a business decision to use Steam. They have explained that business decision clearly on these forums. It is based on their real numbers and experience that show sales and profits using Steam. How does a petition change those money decisions? Are you claiming that your petition will represent an actual significant percentage of projected sales? Are you factoring in any cost or efficiency trade-offs for Stardock going GOG?

Are you claiming some sort of reputation boost they will get from a forum full of threads already criticizing every possible feature and factor? Especially the religious rants about Steam? Something that represents a flood of money that just justifies changing at all?

Why should I want Stardock to make less money providing me the best game software I know of? I don't understand that point. I understand that I want all my games to actually be free, let alone cheap, but I don't feel that is a reason to make Stardock change their business decisions.

I Have many Steam games, but always prefer the option of DRM free if it is available. Several games I have copy on Steam as well as copy on GOG. I admit I pirate quite a few things, mostly to try them out as many games do not have demo worth playing, also since a good amount of the games I bought long ago on places like Direct2Drive have run out of 'activations' and since they are no longer in business I cannot play the game I purchased via 'legal' means and am forced to go another route. If I enjoy the game I will certainly buy it (will likely wait for sale, but still buy it).

I am against DRM in any form (but overlook it for some games that I cannot get otherwise), and would love to see a GOG release for any and all Stardock games. I think I own all of them except the original Elemental at this point anyhow, but would still pay for some of them again just to have access to a DRM free version (all of them if the pricing was favorable).

I doubt Stardock would lose out by offering it on both storefronts, I imagine Steam being a simpler solution for them as it has a much larger market share and visibility, but GOG has very loyal base as well.

Anyhow, I'm in on that vote, I would love to see a GOG release, although I will be getting it on Steam since that's where it is right now.

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Steam users have no rights with Steam because they signed them away. If you decide not to accept the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement either now or in the future, you lose the games in your Steam account (10B above). That is why I prefer to buy my games from GOG.com instead of Steam and why I voted to make Galactic Civilizations III available from GOG.com.

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I have yet to use GOG but I have heard good things. I never have nor ever will be a huge fan of Steam (Don't get me started on SteamOS) so if Stardock puts GalCiv3 on GOG in addition I'm all for it. Also, I have returned.